Wednesday, March 29, 2017

THE ORPHAN'S TALE, by author, PAM JENOFF

Sixteen-year-old Noa has been cast out in disgrace after becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier and being forced to give up her baby. She lives above a small rail station, which she cleans in order to earn her keep… When Noa discovers a boxcar containing dozens of Jewish infants bound for a concentration camp, she is reminded of the child that was taken from her. And in a moment that will change the course of her life, she snatches one of the babies and flees into the snowy night.

Noa finds refuge with a German circus, but she must learn the flying trapeze act so she can blend in undetected, spurning the resentment of the lead aerialist, Astrid. At first rivals, Noa and Astrid soon forge a powerful bond. But as the facade that protects them proves increasingly tenuous, Noa and Astrid must decide whether their friendship is enough to save one another—or if the secrets that burn between them will destroy everything.

I always wanted to be a
writer, but for many years I never got started.
For me the turning point was the events of 9/11. This marked an epiphany where I realized that
I didn’t have forever, and that if I wanted to be a writer I needed to get
started right away. So I took a night
course called “Write Your Novel This Year.”
At that point I was an attorney working full-time, so I used to write
from five to seven in the morning before heading to the firm.

What
are some things you enjoy when not writing?

Between raising three small children, writing and
teaching law school, there isn’t a lot of free time! I enjoy spending time outdoors with my
family, outlet shopping with my mom, going to Philadelphia Eagles games with my
brother, and running. I would also like
some sleep.

Do
you have a ‘day job’ as well?

I do. I am a law
school professor at Rutgers. My students are the best in the world. I love it!

Where
do you get your ideas?

Generally speaking, my books are inspired by my years
working on Holocaust issues for the State Department in Europe. I became very close to the survivors and was
moved and changed by learning their stories. I call my books love stories to
the people who lived during that most tragic era.

Is
there a particular author or book that influenced or inspired your writing or
decision to write?

I give a lot of credit to Natalie Goldberg and her book Writing
Down the Bones. Her writing approach,
inspired by Zen Buddhism, where you just keep writing without allowing your
inner editor to stop you, really broke me open as a writer and I continue to
use it to this day.

Can
you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?

It was not a hop, skip and a jump to publication for
me. Rather it was 5 years and 39
publisher rejections until one publisher (the same one I am with today) made a
small offer 11 months after submission.
Now that things have gone well lots of people in publishing like to act
like they knew it all along. But I have
rejection letters from all of them!

How
do you market your work?

I don’t. I’m not
the slightest bit entrepreneurial. But I
have found that by building relationships with readers and other writers,
supporting each other, you can organically develop a network of support.

What
are you working on now?

A story about 12 female special agents from Britain who
went missing in Europe during World War II and what might have happened to
them.

Is
anything in your book based on real life experiences?

The Orphan’s Tale was inspired by two true stories I
found in the Yad Vashem archives. The
first was a horrific account of a train of unknown children, babies taken from
their parents too young to know their own names and headed for a concentration
camp. The second was the remarkable tale
of a circus which rescued Jews. I
combined these to create Noa, a young Dutch girl who finds the train and takes
one of the babies. She finds refuge with
a German circus that is sheltering Jews.

Do
you have a favorite chapter or scene?

I can’t call it a favorite but a pivotal scene for me is
the one where Noa finds the babies on the train. I knew it would be an opening scene but I
wanted forever to write it because I knew that in order to do it justice, I was
going to have to figuratively put my own children on that train. It was the scene that it broke me to write.

Do
you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Don’t quit your day job! Joking, sort of. This is a tough
business and it is important to have every possible support structure in place,
financial, emotional, etc. It is
important to be disciplined and carve out your writing time because no one is
going to do it for you. Also be
tenacious – the only difference between me and some much better writers I know
is that on the path to publication, I didn’t give up.

What
are the downfalls of your writing career? The best parts?

Writing can be hard and lonely, but it is my rock star
dream come true!

Is
there anything you’d like to say to your readers and fans?

First of all, thank you.
Second, I really value the change to connect with readers on an individual
basis, so please feel free to find me on e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
or wherever you hang out online so we can continue the conversation.